Market Commentary - End-Session
Sensex jumps 378 pts, Nifty ends near 24,700; VIX drops below 14 mark As on : 20-Aug-24  17:16

Domestic stocks settled higher today, with the Nifty closing near 24,700. Positive global sentiment boosted investor confidence. Banks and financials led the charge, while media and FMCG stocks lagged. However, late profit-booking trimmed some gains. The market's focus now shifts to Japan's inflation data and the Fed's minutes for clues on interest rates.

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 378.18 points or 0.47% to 80,802.86. The Nifty 50 index gained 126.20 points or 0.51% to 24,698.85.

SBI Life Insurance Co. (up 5.43%), Bajaj Finserv (up 3.25%) and Bajaj Finance (up 1.57%) boosted the indices.

The broader market rallied. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.98% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.52%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2371 shares rose and 1561 shares fell. A total of 105 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 3.45% to 13.82.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.06% to 6.974 as compared with previous close 6.978.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.7900, compared with its close of 83.8775 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 September 2024 settlement rose 0.66% to Rs 71,611.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.07% to 101.81.

The United States 10-year bond yield grew 0.16% to 3.877.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2024 settlement rose 4 cents or 0.05% to $77.70 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Most European stocks declined on Tuesday as investors refrained from placing massive bets ahead of key data from the euro zone.

Sweden's Riksbank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.50% from 3.75%, and signaled two to three more rate cuts this year.

Most Asian stocks ended higher, mirroring Wall Street's gains fueled by anticipation of potential Federal Reserve rate cut hints later this week.

China's benchmark lending rates remained unchanged as expected, with minimal market impact.

Investor focus is on the Fed's July meeting minutes, due Wednesday, and Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech on Friday for clues on the U.S. rate outlook.

Risk appetite was also bolstered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of a U.S.-proposed interim deal to address the Gaza conflict.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, extending their strongest weekly performance of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 gained 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4%. Tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet contributed to the Nasdaq's outperformance.

The upcoming Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, starting Thursday, will be closely watched for insights into the Fed's transition from a restrictive to neutral monetary policy stance.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindustan Zinc advanced 3.34% to Rs 512.30 after the company said that its board of directors has approved second interim dividend of Rs 19 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25, amounting to Rs 8,028.11 crore.

Allcargo Logistics surged 9.40% after the company's LCL volume for the month of July 2024 stood at 818 lakh cubic meters (Cbm), registering the growthof 6% as compared with 773 lakh CbM in the month of June 2024.

Optiemus Infracom surged 12% after the company announced its foray into the telecom equipment manufacturing, to boost indigenous designing and manufacturing of telecom equipment in India.

Nucleus Software Exports hit an upper circuit of 20% after the company said that its board will consider a share buyback on Thursday, 22 August 2024.

Tata Chemicals rose 0.42%. The firm informed that the internal committee constituted by its board has approved the allotment of 1,70,000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs 1,700 crore, on private placement basis.

HCL Technologies added 0.46%. The company announced that its board of directors has appointed Shiv Walia as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 6 September 2024.

Axiscades Technologies added 2.20% after the company announced that its subsidiary, Epcogen, has been awarded a long-term contract by Highview Power, a British energy storage technology producer. The EPC construction of the Carrington facility is set to commence immediately, with commercial operations planned to begin in 2026.

Hi-Tech Pipes added 0.82%. The company announced that it has bagged orders for supplying ERW Steel Pipes, totaling of Rs 105 crore from key customers in the renewable energy sector.

Meanwhile the company's board has approved fund raising for upto Rs 600 crore, subject to such approvals as may be required, including the approval of the shareholders and other statutory /regulatory /other approvals, as applicable.

Droneacharya Aerial Innovations rose 0.43% after the company signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SISIR Radar to sell SISIR Radar's products.

New Listing:

Shares of Saraswati Saree Depot settled at Rs 209.95 on the BSE, a premium of 31.22% compared with the issue price of Rs 160.

The stock settled at 5% above its opening price. It listed at Rs 200, a premium of 25% to the issue price. The stock hit an intraday low of 190. On the BSE, over 10.27 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Interarch Building Products received 5,08,30,992 bids for shares as against 46,91,585 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Tuesday (20 August 2024). The issue was subscribed 10.83 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (19 August 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (21 August 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 850 to Rs 900 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 16 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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